Returning to WWE on September 26th, Candice LeRae wrestled her first match since giving birth, handily defeating Nikki A.S.H on Monday Night Raw. She’s since been a regular on Monday nights, last competing on the red brand’s October 17th broadcast as she and Bianca Belair lost to Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai and IYO SKY.
‘The Poison Pixie’ had previously been announced as departing WWE on May 6th. She remained under contract while on maternity leave until this date, spending just under five months as a free agent.
Speaking with MuscleManMalcolm recently, Candice LeRae was faced with the question of if she’d prefer to join the Bayley-helmed Damage CTRL trio or if she’d start a faction of her own:
“I’d like The Way to come back! We have Dexter [Lumis] now so we can. [Austin] Theory can figure his life out and then we’ll get there…What is he doing? He went away to college, has a job now, and he’s better than all of us.”
Candice LeRae Was The Triple H Of The Way
Officially formed in December 2020, The Way – comprised of Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell, Austin Theory, and later Dexter Lumis – was one of the shining lights of NXT’s pandemic era. During this time, Gargano was a two-time NXT North American Champion, while LeRae and Hartwell held the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships once.
Johnny Gargano once likened the group to Evolution while appearing on Ryan Satin’s Out of Character podcast:
“The idea of Evolution came to my mind. Austin Theory was a guy I worked with in EVOLVE and I pitched it as him being the Randy [Orton] to my Hunter [Triple H] and I could help him improve and get comfortable while giving him a spotlight. Indi was someone that we were big fans of and we likened her to Dave Batista. We call her ‘Big Dave’ all the time.
We likened it to Evolution to infuse these characters on-screen and give them a platform to grow and get comfortable. It’s worked wonders for Indi and Austin. Having the chance to get comfortable in a group, but also get comfortable in the ring and on pre-tapes, they’ve grown so much. I’m so proud of them because they are immensely talented and they’re going to be stars for this company for a long time.”